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Food, Glorious Food!

How would you like to savour scrumptious rendang tok, Thai green curry, Vietnamese cakes and other regional goodies all served under one roof? Or fancy learning the secrets of authentic Asian cuisine from top chefs of this region? You can do all these and more if you head to this year’s ASEAN Heritage Food Trail in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. The project, which also promises to highlight the culture and heritage of our Southeast Asian neighbours – Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar – is the brainchild of Redzuawan Ismail, more widely known as Chef Wan, and is co-organised by Tourism Malaysia. According to Chef Wan, the idea for this programme began when he received an award in 2008 from the King of Majapahit, in recognition of his work in promoting Indonesian culture to the world. “I watched 2000 people in Istana Keraton Jogjakarta participate in this interesting and beautiful ceremony. Then I went back to the kitchen and watched Javanese ladies prepare wonderful sweets, à la carte dishes, appetisers, and salads. I suddenly had a vision of all these dishes in the streets of Malaysia and I thought, why not? If we can bring various desserts and savoury food from Asia and have people learn to cook them, then we’ll have more variety as well as the best street food in the world. “We have all our brothers and sisters who live so close to each other but we know so little of one another. Here we are calling ourselves Malaysia truly Asia, but what we reveal to the world about our Asian heritage is so little. Since Malaysia has now become a giant melting pot, I want to share this lovely cuisine; including street food and palace cuisine, from all around the region.” The month-long event in November will provide the public with an opportunity to enjoy regional flavours, witness cooking demonstrations by notable chefs from the region, and participate in cooking competitions for a new concept of traditional favourites. According to Chef Wan, food is a gift that needs to be shared; hence, the decision to bring together celebrity chefs from ASEAN as well as local chefs to showcase their local cuisines for the festival. “The whole idea is for everyone to get connected with each other,” Chef Wan remarks. Malaysia ASEAN Heritage Trail 1 – 30 November
Lot 10 Shopping Centre, Jalan Bukit Bintang and Avenue K, Jalan Ampang. Citywide.

ASEAN ASEAN stands for the Association of Southeast Asia Nations and was formed in 1967. It is a geo-political and economic organisation made up of ten countries in the region, and seeks to promote peace and stability, as well as sharing different cultures and traditions. The association organises various activities from scholarship programmes to sports events, and even has its own regional anthem – The ASEAN Way!